Day Two: Tony Hernandez’s Trial in New York

This summary is based on the Spanish language reporting published by Pro-Honduras Network (ProHN). Watch videos posted below.  

What Happened Today:

** Three witnesses were called to the stand: Miguel Reinoso, a Honduran detective from the Attorney General’s office; a DEA agent with knowledge of drug trafficking routes in Central America; and Victor Hugo Díaz Morales “El Rojo,” a collaborating witness of the prosecution also accused of drug trafficking by US federal prosecutors.

Key Details that Surfaced Today:

** Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) was again implicated directly in receiving drug money by details documented in “drug notebooks” (“narcolibretas”). Tony and JOH’s name were written inside the notebook next to quantities of money.

The “narcolibreta” with JOH’s (and Ton'y’s) initials and dollar values. Photo from Univision

** Witness “El Rojo” testified that he trafficked 140,000 tons of cocaine with Tony Hernandez and gave JOH $40,000 for his congressional campaign. In two days of the trial, accusations of drug funding for JOH’s electoral campaigns have reached $1,040,000 USD ($1 million from El Chapo/Sinaloa cartel & $40,000 from “El Rojo”.

What Will Happen Tomorrow:

** Witness “El Rojo” will continue his testimony

** Likely that more witnesses will be called if “El Rojo” finishes testifying.

****

MORE DETAILS:

Yesterday as mentioned in the Day One summary, Juan Orlando Hernandez tweeted and the Presidential palace put out a statement about the accusation that JOH received money from ‘El Chapo’ to finance his electoral campaign(s). Both public statements claimed that this is false and/or the prosecutor did not say what was being reported by national and international press.

JOH also made statements yesterday and today (October 3) via a public transmission from the Presidential palace that the drug traffickers’ statements in the US are how these extradited drug traffickers are seeking revenge against him and his family.

To clarify what was said, Pro-Honduras Network and other media, published the actual court transcripts. Here are some quotes from these documents (see links to these documents below):

 “The defendant’s cocaine network thrived because of his political power in Honduras. Mayors, congressman, military generals, police chiefs, they all protected the defendant. They all protected his organization. They were all bought and paid for with the dirtiest of drug money. And most importantly, the defendant was protected by and had access to his brother, the current sitting president of Honduras, a man who himself has received millions of dollars in drug money bribes, bribes he received from some of the largest cocaine traffickers in the world, bribes he received from men like El Chapo and the Sinaloa cartel who personally delivered one million dollars to the defendant for his brother, bribes he was paid to protect the defendant, to protect his organization and to keep them in business.”

For a long time these bribes worked. The defendant and his co-conspirators were wildly successful. But while the defendant’s cocaine network soared, while his profits rose, his country suffered. You’ll learn during this trial that Honduras is one of the most violent places on earth in no small part because of people like the defendant and his coconspirators, people who infect the country with violence, with corruption and with cocaine, distributing the drug through its borders for distribution in the United States.” – October 2, 2019, opening statement of federal prosecutor, Mr. Richman. Document can be found on ProHN’s Facebook page.

Testimony of Honduran Detective Miguel Reinoso, Honduran Attorney General’s office:

** Spoke about the seizures in June 7, 2018 in Naco, Cortés of 2 vehicles, some “drug notebooks” (“narcolibretas”), $193,220, 2 weapons and grenades in secret compartments inside the vehicles. The drug notebooks mention JOH and Tony’s name and belonged to Magdalena Fúnez (1).

** Said he was surprised to see Tony’s name inside the drug notebook because he said that people were aware of Tony’s case and that he was the brother of the President.

Testimony of DEA Agent:

** Explained how drug is transited through Colombia, Central America and into the US.

** Said that 90% of all cocaine that makes it into the US market comes from Colombia and a lot of it passes through Honduras.

Partial Testimony of collaborating witness, Victor Hugo Díaz Morales “El Rojo” (2):

“El Rojo” Photo from el Heraldo, Honduras

** As soon as “El Rojo” entered the courtroom, Tony looked nervous.

** First questions asked by Prosecutors: “Have you trafficked drugs with someone in this courtroom.” Then “What is that person wearing?” And El Rojo looked around the courtroom and identified Tony.

** Mentioned that he started trafficking drugs by working as “Don H’s” driver (3) through Carlos Toledo, a friend of Tony’s since his youth.  It is believed that Tony started getting into the drug trade through Toledo and through him would meet drug traffickers in other countries.

** Discussed that JOH’s bodyguards attended meetings in Carlos Toledo’s plantations in Lempira along with Tony, his bodyguards and other drug traffickers. Some traffickers came from Colombia and Guatemala to attend the meetings. Also present was Alexander Ardón (who is believed to be a collaborating witness for the prosecution).

** The Sinaloa cartel was in charge of running the drugs into the US but Tony worked with the cartel and others in Guatemala to run the drugs to the US market.

** All meetings with drug traffickers are dangerous and Tony and his security team were always heavily armed

** That he worked with Tony from 2004 to 2010.

** Since 2008, Tony has stamped his cocaine with his initials TH, modeled off of the Tommy Hilfiger brand and that Tony would brag about his TH label.

“TH” stamped on cocaine. Photo from Univision

** He paid $40,000 to Tony for Juan Orlando Hernandez’s congressional campaign.

** Never sent drug shipments less than 500 to 1,000 kilograms of cocaine at a time.

** Said that he paid Tony Hernandez $5,000 in exchange for all types of information each time he received it. For example, the locations of the military and police check-points along the drug transit route, who would be at the check-points, and also that the drug shipments could pass without problems, and what investigations were underway in Honduras by Honduran authorities. Tony told him that as long as the payments were on time, all of the information to El Rojo would be on time. These payments would increase to $10,000 around 2013.

** Prosecutor that questioned El Rojo mentioned routes that drug traffickers including El Rojo used. These included the military base Puerto Castilla (north coast) and from there that was where the route started until the drugs arrived to Guatemala.

** Tony provided information coming out of Puerto Lempira from the Honduran navy including the coordinates of military operations (naval or other). This made it clear that Tony was an untouchable figure with extensive amounts of information. Another route was in Naco, Cortés on a military base – it was identified as an important route, which according to El Rojo was a critical and really the only route for drugs to pass through.

** There were 4 drug transiting routes mentioned including:

o   A narco landing strip located in Gualacho eastern Olancho where drugs were taken from Juticalpa to Tegucigalpa to Naco, Cortés, and then were passed over the border into Guatemala through border crossings Los Terceros, El Espiritu (Copan), El Paraíso (Copan) and El Florido (Copan)

o    Another route: Drugs would land on narco landing strip in Brus Laguna (located in eastern La Moskitia).

** Tony provided essential information to El Rojo in order to ensure the safe passages of drug shipments through the country.

** He trafficked at least 140,000 kilograms of cocaine with Tony Hernandez in the time he worked with him

** Said that the principal protector of Tony, is JOH and that many drug traffickers financed JOH’s campaigns.

** Confessed to having murdered 18 people and seriously injuring 4 more.

** Assured that he met with Tony 3-4 times per year and in one meetings in 2007, Mario Jose Calix Hernandez, Carlos Toledo, JOH/Tony’s cousin Hernan Hernandez, Juan Carlos Valenzuela (a sitting National Party Congressman) (4) and one of JOH’s bodyguards with the last name Portillo were also present.

** $2,000-$2-500 cocaine price in Colombia, $3,000 in Honduras, and the closer it gets to the US market, the price increase. One kilogram of cocaine

NOTES

(1) According to Honduran press, Magdalena Fúnez was arrested along with four other individuals including Nery López Sanabría in June 2018 in Naco, Cortés. López Sanabría’s extraditions was also requested by US authorities and in order to avoid being arrested by the DEA and US authorities, López Sanabria faked his own death.

(2) “El Rojo” was arrested in Guatemala on March 4, 2017. He is a confessed drug trafficker and murderer. He was extradited to the United States in April 2018 and is believed to be closely linked to drug trafficker Wilter Blanco.

(3) Hector Emilio Fernandez Rosa, known as “Don H” was sentenced to life in prison for distributing over 150 tons of drugs into the US. He was arrested in Honduras in October 2014 and extradited to the US in September 2015. Don H worked closely with the Valle Valle cartel, who are known to also have helped finance JOH’s electoral campaigns.

(4) Congressman Juan Carlos Valenzuela is a National Party representative for the department of Lempira – the department where Tony and JOH were both born. In December 2018, anti-corruption body, the MACCIH and its investigative arm, UFECIC, indicted Valenzuela and 20 other congress reps, ex Congressional reps, and others for corruption charges and being involved in stealing $860,000 USD that was laundered through the NGO Association Green Planet. The case was named “Arco Abierta” by the MACCIH and continues to proceed through Honduran courts.

Day One: Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernandez's Trial in New York

Trial Context: The Role of the United States and Canada in Supporting a Narco-Government in Honduras

Today, Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernandez, a former National Party congressional representative and the youngest brother of the Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH), goes to trial in the southern district court in New York.

Tony is being accused of “conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, related weapons offenses involving the use and possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and making false statements to federal agents.”

Caption: Juan Antonio “Tony” hernandez (left) and the US Southern District Court in New York (Right). Photo from Pro-Honduras Network

Since the US and Canadian-backed 2009 coup d’état in particular, Honduras has spiraled into a human rights and economic, political and social crisis that has driven thousands of Hondurans out of the country and caused the murder, criminalization, and persecution of journalists, lawyers, land defenders, indigenous peoples, and women. Many of the people that have fled or have been politically targeted, have either publicly denounced these abuses, criticized the government, or made statements in relation to the Honduran government’s involvement in drug trafficking, organized crime, and promoting impunity to the benefit of the economic and political elite in the country and foreign economic interests.

Many scandals have deepened the crisis sparked by the 2009 coup in Honduras including the judicial coup in 2014, the millions of dollars stolen from the social security system (IHSS) in 2015, a fraudulent election in 2013, over a dozen corruption scandals implicating high-ranking public officials in the government including family members of former and the current Presidents, the 2017 electoral crisis and US and Canadian-endorsed fraud that saw the illegal re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Through all of these crises, the US and Canada have maintained their political and financial support for the Honduran government.

In the New York court documents in Tony Hernandez’s case, federal prosecutors have focused on highlighting the role of Honduran officials in drug trafficking and organized crime. The prosecutors have also discussed how the political context that has permitted such illicit activities, was fostered and in turn, allowed for the expansion of drug trafficking by high-level government officials and their family members.. These statements include:

"The [US] Government will establish that the defendant [Tony Hernandez] described the 2009 coup as a development that enhanced the likelihood of additional lucrative drug trafficking and further impunity, viewed each of the national elections as a motive for engaging in additional drug trafficking to generate proceeds that could be used to fund campaigns, and relied on the individuals who won many of the elections to protect him and his co-conspirators from arrest and persecution." .......

"In approximately the summer of 2009, the defendant [Tony Hernandez] told CW-3 [co-witness 3, Alexander Ardón, also charged in US with drug trafficking, former mayor in El Paraiso, Copan for many years], in substance, that the coup had improved the prospects for their drug-trafficking partnership because it was more likely that CC-3 [Co-Conspirator 3, former President Pepe Lobo] and CC-4 [Co-Conspirator 4, President Juan Orlando Hernandez] would be in positions to protect and assist them by winning their National Party campaigns for President and President of the Congress, respectively."

Although important information for their case, it is unfortunate and wrong that US federal prosecutors, US and Canadian media and US and Canadian citizens do not go further to ask what the role of the US and Canadian governments has been in creating and supporting these political contexts, these illicit activities, and how both governments have benefitted from such.

In the name of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime, the US has sent millions of dollars to Honduras to support the implementation of the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). And Canada has done the same through the Canadian Initiative for Security in Central America (CISCA). Millions of dollars of funding, training, and support has been and continues to be sent to Honduras while convicted drug traffickers and named co-conspirators like former President Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo and President Juan Orlando Hernandez oversee national security efforts, the Honduran military and the so-called “war on drugs” and fight against organized crime.

What is the US and Canadian role in the drug conspiracies of the governments they have supported almost unconditionally since 2009 in Honduras?

When will the US and Canadian government be held criminally responsible for financing and politically supporting governments that traffic drugs and commit human rights abuses in total impunity?

*****

Day One of Tony’s Trial in New York

This is an English summary of Pro-Honduras Network’s (PROHN) live coverage of day one (October 2) of Tony Hernandez’s trial in the New York Southern District Court.

Watch this video in Spanish and see other information PROHN’s Facebook page: Pro-Honduras Network

WHAT HAPPENED TODAY:

• 18 jurors were selected and sworn in

• All or part of the opening statements were given by the Prosecutors and Defense.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW:

• The first witnesses will be called.

• More important information will come out about the role of the co-conspirators and other key figures in Honduras who aided in allowing Tony and others to operate in impunity.

MORE RELEVANT DETAILS (JURY SELECTION, AUDIENCE IN COURTROOM, ETC)

• Trial started at 10 am and finished around 5 pm Eastern

• 18 jurors (12 women and 6 men) were selected of 60 potential jurors and sworn in.  3 jurors are bilingual.

  • This started at 10:30 am, there was a break at 1 pm then questions were made to the potential jurors to ensure their impartiality.

  • An important document given to jurors:  A list of various people that are of interest in the case or involved in some form in the context of the case or committed crimes.

Caption: This is a copy of the document containing the names and places of relevant actors which were provided to the jurors

• Some family members of Tony and JOH were present in the trial including at least two brothers. 

• Approximately 50 people, mostly Hondurans showed up to protest outside court after the first day.

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS’ OPENING STATEMENTS OR COMMENTS

• At least 4-5 federal prosecutors represented the US government – arrived to the trial with 2-3 shopping carts filled with documents

• Mentioned that Juan Antonio Hernandez and Juan Orlando Hernandez as being involved in drug trafficking.

• Mentioned that Juan Orlando Hernandez had received millions of dollars of bribes including from El Chapo, which Tony Hernandez helped deliver to his brother.

  Note: There have already been press articles released about this. See New York Times. Since the information began circulating, Juan Orlando Hernandez has tweeted in response and the President’s Office in Tegucigalpa has also put out a statement in Spanish. More on this tomorrow.

• Made a specific point to mention Juan Orlando Hernandez as the President of Honduras but also a co-conspirator to traffic drugs into the U.S. Part of the material that the Prosecutors will present is a weapon that has Juan Orlando Hernandez’s name engraved on it.

• Made a clear argument that the main reason that Tony was able to operate as a drug trafficking in Honduras was because of the protection given by his brother, JOH. Tomorrow, this will be proven by one of the first witnesses.

• Tony is a violent and highly dangerous drug trafficking who has been involved in at least 12 murders and trafficked thousands of kilograms of drugs to the US

• Spoke about video evidence that will be presented that shows Tony Hernandez meeting with several drug traffickers.

• Spoke about the profit made by trafficking drugs – Each kilogram of cocaine in the US costs $30,000 USD and Tony (and others) are being accused of transporting 100s of tonnes of cocaine.

• Mentioned that people like Tony Hernandez are “untouchable” in Honduras because

TONY HERNANDEZ’S DEFENSE’S OPENING STATEMENTS OR COMMENTS

• Made argument that Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world and for that reason, Tony had at least 5 licensed weapons under his name.

• Mentioned the conditions that Tony was detained in – not being able to see his wife and his girlfriend or breathe in fresh air.

• Said that JOH and Tony’s error was to participate in politics in Honduras because the political system is “rotten” and because they implemented an extradition treaty, which has created a reason for revenge of drug traffickers against them.

• Mentioned the relationship between U.S. and Honduras saying the US has unlimited amount of information in Honduras and asked “how is it possible that the US government is saying this when they could have done something about it?”

Other observations: Sometimes its difficult to understand whether Tony’s defense is defending Tony or Juan Orlando Hernandez.

STAY TUNED FOR DAY 2’s SUMMARY

Impunity & Delayed Prosecution of Crimes Committed by State Security Forces During Post-Electoral Crisis

On March 24, 2019, the Public Prosecutor's office announced that a military police (PMOP) officer, Second Sergeant Denis Omar Cáceres Ramírez was arrested and charged for the murder of 32-year old David Octavio Quiroz, who was killed in Guacamaya, Cortés on December 15, 2017 during the protests against the electoral fraud and re-election of Juan Orlando Hernandez. 

Quiroz died in the early morning on December 16 at the public hospital in San Pedro Sula. His wife Sandy Mancia and many in his family have been forced to leave the country after experiencing harassment by state security forces for speaking out publicly various times about Quiroz's murder and demanding justice before state institutions.

David Octavio Quiroz (32) murdered in the streets of Honduras for protesting electoral fraud and the illegal re-election of Juan Orlando Hernandez. Picture from: Once Noticias

While Quiroz was murdered in the December 2017 protest, several other protesters were injured including a young man shot several times in the leg and another man in his 60s who was shot in the head. No one has been held responsible for the injured protesters who to date, suffer long-term health impacts as a result of the deadly repression. 

This afternoon, PMOP solider Cáceres was sent to pre-trial detention which he will serve in military barracks in Naco, Cortés. Note that he was not sent to a maximum-security prison and instead to a detention site where conditions are much better and visits are less restricted. PMOP Cáceres will be under guard by other military officers. 

This is the second agent from a state security force that has been arrested for deaths related to the post-electoral crisis. The PMOP soldier is however, the first military officer to be arrested and accused. To date, no high-ranking military or police have been charged for commanding forces during the protests or for giving the orders to shoot at protesters. 

The other accused is a national police officer, Olvin Fernando González Velásquez, charged with the homicide of 16-year old Virgilio Jared Avila González in Agua Blanca Sur, department of Yoro. The accused at the time of the protests, was head of the Agua Blanca Sur police post. As was the PMOP officer, González Velásquez was sent to pre-trial detention and is currently being held in the jail in the northern city of Tela. 

Again, in the same protest when González was murdered, several young people were injured, at least 3 were brutally tortured by police, and several people were detained. 

There are a few other small movements in cases that have been reported by the Honduran press regarding human rights violations, abuses by state security forces, and killings that occurred during the crisis. Unfortunately, cases involving state security forces that have either been indicted or have gone before a judge, have been dismissed or have not proceeded. 

Some of these include: 

Other than the two cases above, 18 other indictments have been presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office for abuses committed by state security forces during the crisis. According to criterio.hn, none of the military and police accused in the 11 indictments of 22 state security forces presented in July 2018, were charged with murder. Instead charges against them included breaking and entering, abuse of authority, torture and causing serious injury, and rape.  

Of the above cases, four police including sub-inspector Rudy Ariel Brizuela Mejía and Preventative Police Sandro Exequiel Zavala Hernandez, Santos Rigoberto Mendoza Bonilla and Edwin Alberto Rodriguez Carrasco were absolved of charges of breaking and entering and abuse of authority when they illegally entered the home to arrest political prisoner, Jhony Andrés Salgado Fuentes in December 2017. On January 10, 2019, a judge in the city of El Progreso issued a definite dismissal of the charges against the police officers. However to date, political prisoner Salgado Fuentes, since released from pre-trial detention in May 2017, has to sign regularly before a judge on charges of illegal possession of comercial weapons and improper use of police equipment. The case against Jhony like other cases against the political prisoners and people criminalized for participating in protests, are examples of the unequal application of the law and abuse by investigative and judicial authorities and institutions. 

As part of the 11 indictments, Police Sub-commissioner Raúl Martínez Alvarado was accused of abuse of authority against two journalists, Cesar Silva and Rony Martinez of UNETV, and LIBRE Congress representative, Jari Dixon. According to the online media source, Pasos de Animal Grande, a judge provisionally dismissed the charges against the Sub-Commissioner of the Police in September 2018. As a result of the judicial follow-up of the case, Honduran organization C-LIBRE has published the names of high-level military and police officials that commanded the operations in Tegucigalpa on the day of the incident against the journalists and congressional representative. The charges against the police officer stem from a protest in Tegucigalpa on January 12, 2018 close to the Presidential palace. While both journalists and the congress representative were harassed, beaten and abused by security forces; several young people were beaten, detained and then released; live rounds and tear gas was shot at protesters, the only concrete judicial follow-up in relation to the incidents of that day, as C-LIBRE notes, has been the detention of two political prisoners, Edwin Espinal and Raul Alvarez. Both still remain over a year later in a maximum-security prison. 

SUPPORTING POLITICAL PRISONERS: ONE YEAR IN US-STYLE TORTURE CENTRES IN HONDURAS (español abajo)

One year ago, I made the trip for the first time to the military-run, maximum-security prison known as La Tolva, located in southeastern Honduras. I thought it would be pretty simple to drop off food and clothes for Edwin.

Arrested on January 19, Edwin was immediately sent the following day (January 20) to La Tolva by Judge Claudio Aguilar of the national jurisdiction court system on request from the Public Prosecutor’s office. Raul Alvarez, the other political prisoner from Tegucigalpa, was sent to La Tolva a few days before Edwin.

US-Style Maximum-Security Torture Centers

Very quickly after my first trip to La Tolva, I would come to realize that La Tolva is not at all a jail. As Honduran human rights organization COFADEH first called it, La Tolva is a torture centre.

It is a torture centre where the Honduran government sends people (many of whom have not been found guilty or gone to trial such is the case with Edwin and Raul) to psychologically, emotionally and physically torture them and their family members who attempt to visit and care for them while incarcerated.

The two maximum-security torture centres - La Tolva and El Pozo (known as ‘El Pozo II’) jails look like they were physically picked up from some location in the US and dropped down in Honduras. They are large, cement compounds, complete with three layers of security decked out with modern equipment and infrastructure. They were built by the Juan Orlando Hernandez regime to allegedly house the most dangerous criminals in the country.

One of the two US-style maximum-security prison in Honduras

I have too many examples of why these jails are torture centres and how prison authorities and the Honduran government go out of their way to create a hell that is hard to imagine for those that have never been in these jails or don’t have family members imprisoned there. The Honduran government and media even brag about the ‘hell’ of these jails in a sociopathic manner that perpetuates further exclusion and isolation of an already marginalized and stigmatized population in the country.

When a riot occurs there, when inmates are killed or disappeared, when family members denounce the poor conditions, the health crises, the abuses, prison authorities are often quick to lie and give a version to the Honduran media that is far from the truth.  With such little access provided to outside human rights organizations and attorneys, it is extremely difficult to tell a different and truthful version of what really occurs inside these torture centres.

What are the conditions Like in La Tolva:

• Prisoners have access to running water for 3 hours/day

• Prisoners receive 2 hours of sunlight per month

• There is no telephone communication & no letters are allowed in or out of the jail.

• No pens, books, or paper are allowed in the prison

• 9 men share a cell and one toilet (with no walls for privacy and that are difficult to flush and keep clean considering significant water shortages)

• Prisoners are sporadically given purified water in bags (~400 ml), sometimes only one bag/day.

• Food portions are insufficient and are cut when prison authorities want to punish the population.

The water bottle on the left is a sample of water taken from inside La Tolva. When prison authorities do not provide sufficient purified water, prisoners must drink the dirty tap water

Prisoners’ Contact With the Outside World

• Family visits are permitted one day per week after each family member hands in the following paperwork to prison authorities then waits for that paperwork to be ‘processed’ and then sent to the INP. This can take up to 1-3 months and costs approximately $100 USD. What do families have to submit to be authorized to visit?

  • 3 photos taken in studio, 3 personal references, a proof of address given in a formal document by the municipality; police background check; criminal background check; and a copy in color of photo ID.

• Conjugal visit for 40 minutes every two weeks. Partners of inmates must apply for these visits handing in the following paperwork AFTER they apply for regular prison visit authorization:

  • a Pap smear, syphilis test, HIV test, full blood exam, a doctor’s letter saying one is in good health; a ‘health card’ certifying that one is not contagious; 3 colour photos taken in a studio; a colour copy of photo ID.

• The detainees’ lawyers are only allowed to speak with them for 10 minutes with their clients and all conversations take place in front of two prison guards – one behind the lawyer and the other behind the inmate.

In order to hand all this paperwork in, families must travel to the front gate of the prison where only ONE designated person receives them. This one person has to walk back and forth from the administrative offices all day. This is a highly inefficient system that requires family members to stand outside in the hot sun with no shade, no bathroom, nowhere to buy water or food, nowhere to sit except on the hot pavement, for hours.

Changing Prison Culture in Honduras

In La Tolva, it is really difficult if not impossible for national and international human rights organizations to enter and verify prison conditions. This gives prison authorities even more power and ability to hide or distort the reality of what does or does not occur inside these jails.  

In normal Honduran jails and as per Honduran culture, dropping food, clothes and other basic necessities at the jails for family members has been the norm for years. With the construction of US-style prisons in Honduras, this has changed. Now, nothing can be dropped off at the gates of the prison without prison authorities telling you what (medical prescriptions prescribed by the prison doctor; water; the type and quantity of clothing down to the exact color, neck yoke line, style, etc). For so many poor Honduran families, providing these items down to the specificities required by the National Penitentiary Institute (INP) and the prison is impossible and very expensive.

Preparing the clothing and hygiene kits’ to take to La Tolva for Edwin & Raul: 3 white or green, round-neck t-shirts; sweatpants with no zippers or buttons or markings; two pairs of shorts; running shoes; two pairs of boxers; three pairs of white, ankle socks; etc.Honduran Prisila Alvarado of the Mesa de los Indignados de El Progreso holds up the kits and helps prepare and purchase them.

The majority of Honduran prisoners in these torture centres are poor people. The rich and corrupt, like all of those accused in the 8 corruption cases presented by the internationally-financed anti-corruption body, the MACCIH, are either conditionally released; on house arrest; or are jailed inside VIP rooms or jail cells in the non-US-style Tamara prison, outside of Tegucigalpa.

Sending Edwin and Raul – two people of thousands of Honduras that protested the 2017 electoral fraud – to La Tolva is the harshest, most inhumane punishment imposed by the Juan Orlando Hernandez regime against members of the opposition. The complacency of the Public Prosecutor’s office and the justice system is cruel, unjust, and once again, an illustration of the unequal form in which the law is manipulatively applied in Honduras.

The First Few Days After Edwin’s Arrival to La Tolva

Shortly after arriving to La Tolva, we would find out later that both Edwin and Raul were held in solitary confinement – Raul for approximately 20 days and Edwin for 15 days. Edwin tells me that he almost went crazy the first few weeks. He was enclosed inside a small cell with no bathroom. He begged another prisoner that he saw on his one-hour outside a day (it would later be one hour every two weeks) to let him borrow the Bible. It was the only thing that kept his mind from running wild and one of the few books in the last year that he’s been able to get his hands on.

US Companies Profit from These Torture Centers & Detention of Political Prisoners

The most outrageous part of the conditions and practices of Honduran authorities is that the two maximum-security prisons – La Tolva (or El Pozo II) and El Pozo - are made, designed, and a source of profit for US prison contractors and companies.

Inside La Tolva, one quickly can see that the majority of the equipment, building materials, bullet proof windows, even the large industrial fans on the ceilings of the visiting areas, have been purchased from US companies.

The Honduran government has purchased various types of equipment for the jail that have never been used. For example, there is a large, industrial clothing washer and dryer that is never used, possibly because the prison suffers from a severe water shortages. Instead, the equipment just sits there unused while a US company received likely thousands of dollars selling it to the Honduran government. 

All windows including in the cellblocks and visitation areas are bullet proof and money has been spent on all kinds of US-style equipment, yet there is little to no medical equipment or medications inside the health clinic that allegedly has a 24-hour physician on staff 7 days a week. Yet prisoners constantly complain of the lack of urgent and regular medication attention including Edwin and Raul who went on hunger strike demanding to see a physician in the first few months of their arrival to the La Tolva.

As far as the inmates and prison guards understand, inside La Tolva torture centre there are wood working workshops and gyms filled with various types of equipment. These areas and equipment are not used by the inmates - they just know that they exist. The kitchen has industrial style equipment that is more likely than not, purchased from a US company and imported into Honduras.

At one point, a private US company installed telephones and inmates that wanted to contact their family members had to purchase phone cards costing 100 Lempiras ($4.20) for 12 minutes. The phones were taken out on April 2018. A US company also services and runs the security cameras inside the prison but the name of the company is not public information and difficult to verify.   

Meeting Courageous Honduran Women At The Front Gate

Standing outside the front gate of La Tolva (known as ‘Customs One,’ almost like you’re entering another country and leaving all your rights behind) has become the norm for me.

Almost on a weekly basis, I wait outside of the torture centre with Honduran women from the organization, the Mesa de los Indignados de Progreso that lead the fight to free the political prisoners.

We, and all the female family members of other inmates, constantly have to fight the various military and police forces at the gate, either to accept medications prescribed by the “in-house doctor”; accept additional nutritional supplements; and simply demand that prison authorities respect the law. When one demands this, I have myself been laughed at and dismissed by the security forces who tell me: “you’re in Honduras, sweetie.”

At La Tolva torture centre, laws do not apply. Every single legal mechanism that establishes the prison norms, rules, procedures, and laws in Honduras are violated in La Tolva.

The more you mention that the prison authorities are breaking the law, the more the various security forces present inside the jail like the Military Police, the National Penitentiary Institute (INP) police, the military, and the new National Force to Control the Prisons (that are just US-trained military soldiers in balaclavas with only their eyes exposed and black and green uniforms) make it more and more difficult for you to get in to see your family members.

The military prison director also finds his way of punishing those that demand that the law be respected. In many cases, the directors (who are rotated every 6-7 months) will make you wait outside in the hot sun where there is no shade or trees, nowhere to buy water, use the bathroom, or sit down. I have spent hours after hours outside of the La Tolva standing next to mostly Honduran women that are doing the same things I am: waiting to be let in to visit, drop off medications and prescribed nutritional supplements, or await the answer to simple questions.

Waiting in a long line ups out in the hot sun in ‘Customs One’ in La Tolva in order to drop off clothes and hygiene kits for Edwin and Raul

I have met countless Honduran women at the gates of La Tolva as I wait, yet again, to either get a written confirmation of something or permission from the Director to enter. All of the women tell me endless stories of abuses; sexual abuse and harassment; of times when they have attempted to demand their rights and then been punished by having their visitation rights taken away for 6 months; of fighting for their brothers, sons, and husbands and end up frustrated with no response from the Honduran government.

The Honduran women that continue going to La Tolva to visit and support their family members are truly incredible. I have come to deeply respect their courage, strength, and solidarity as we share testimonies and stories at the front gate of the torture centre.

A Failed ‘Security’ Strategy But a Successfully Profitable One

These torture centres do nothing to ensure the safety of the prison population or the safety of the general Honduran population. Honduran women are the people most affected by this new security policy implemented under the Juan Orlando Hernandez and with the positive view of the US government that promotes US economic interests in Honduras over human rights and prisoners’ rights.

These jails must be closed down. In normal Honduran jails, conditions must be improved.

As Edwin said to foreigners a few months ago:

“In Honduras, we have jails instead of schools, weapons instead of medicine, bullets instead of books. This just makes our world more unsafe. Lets build a better world. Ask your government to stop supporting dictatorships.”

 ****

APOYANDO PRESOS POLITICOS: UN AÑO EN UN CENTRO DE TORTURA, ESTILO GRINGO EN HONDURAS

*** Traducción borrador ***

 1 de febrero de 2019

Hace un año, hice el primer viaje a la prisión de máxima seguridad dirigida por militares conocida como La Tolva, ubicada en el sureste de Honduras. Pensé que sería bastante simple dejar comida y ropa para Edwin.

Arrestado el 19 de enero, Edwin fue enviado de inmediato al día siguiente, el 20 de enero a La Tolva por el juez Claudio Aguilar de la corte de jurisdicción nacional a petición del Ministerio Publico. Raúl Álvarez, el otro preso político de Tegucigalpa, fue enviado a La Tolva unos días antes que Edwin.

 Centros de Tortura de Máxima Seguridad, Estilo Gringo

Muy rápidamente después de mi primer viaje a La Tolva, me di cuenta de que La Tolva no es una cárcel. Como lo llamó por primera vez la organización hondureña de derechos humanos, COFADEH, La Tolva es un centro de tortura. Es un centro de tortura donde el gobierno hondureño envía a personas (muchas de las cuales no han sido declaradas culpables como en el caso de Edwin y Raúl) para torturar psicológica, emocional y físicamente a ellos y a los miembros de su familia que intentan visitarlos y cuidarlos mientras estén encarcelados.

Los dos centros de tortura de máxima seguridad, La Tolva y El Pozo (conocidos como "El Pozo II") parecen haber sido recogidos físicamente de algún lugar en los EE. UU. y arrojados en Honduras. Son grandes, compuestos de cemento, completos con tres supuestos anillos de seguridad adornadas con modernos equipos e infraestructura. Fueron construidos por el régimen de Juan Orlando Hernández para albergar a los supuestos criminales más peligrosos del país.

Tengo demasiados ejemplos de por qué estas cárceles son centros de tortura y cómo las autoridades penitenciarias y el gobierno hondureño se esfuerzan por crear un infierno que es difícil de imaginar para aquellos que nunca han estado en estas cárceles o no tienen familiares encarcelados allí. El gobierno y los medios de comunicación hondureños, presumen del "infierno" de estas cárceles en una forma sociopática que solo perpetúa la exclusión y el aislamiento de una población ya marginada y estigmatizada en el país.

Cuando se produce un motín allí, cuando los internos son asesinados o desaparecidos, cuando los miembros de la familia denuncian las malas condiciones, las crisis sanitarias, los abusos, las autoridades penitenciarias a menudo mienten y entregan una versión a los medios de comunicación hondureños que está lejos de la verdad. Con tan poco acceso a organizaciones y abogados de derechos humanos, es extremadamente difícil decir una versión diferente y veraz de lo que realmente ocurre dentro de estos centros de tortura.
Como Son Las Condiciones en La Tolva:

• Los privados tienen acceso a agua (sucia) por un máximo de 3 horas cada día.

• Los privados reciben 2 horas de sol al mes

• No hay comunicación telefónica y no se permiten el ingreso o salida de cartas de la cárcel

• No se permiten bolígrafos, libros o papel en la prisión

• 9 hombres comparten una celda y un inodoro (sin paredes para su privacidad y que son difíciles de limpiar y mantener limpios considerando una grave escasez de agua)

• Los privados reciben agua purificada esporádicamente en bolsas (~ 400 ml), a veces solo una bolsa por día

• Las porciones de comida son insuficientes y se cortan cuando las autoridades de la prisión quieren castigar a los privados de libertad

El Contacto de Los Privados Con el Mundo Exterior

• Las visitas familiares se permiten un día por semana después de que cada miembro de la familia soliciten un carnet y entregue los siguientes documentos a las autoridades de la prisión y luego espera a que se procesen y envíen al INP. Esto puede tomar hasta 1-3 meses y cuesta aproximadamente $ 100 USD ¿Qué tienen que presentar las familias para ser autorizados a visitar ?:

  • 3 fotos tomadas en un estudio, 3 referencias personales, una constancia de vecindad entregada por el municipio; antecedentes policiales; antecedentes criminales; y una copia en color de su cédula

• Visita conyugal permitidas por 40 minutos cada dos semanas. Las compañeras de los reclusos deben solicitarlas y entregar la siguiente documentación DESPUÉS de solicitar un carnet para una visita regular:

  • Una citología vaginal; un examen de sífilis; un examen de VIH, hemograma completo, una "tarjeta de salud" que certifique que una no es contagiosa; un examen físico completo; 2 fotos a color tomadas en un estudio; una copia en color de su cédula

• Los abogados de los detenidos solo pueden entrar una vez por semana por 10 minutos con sus clientes. Todas las conversaciones tienen lugar frente a dos guardias, uno detrás del abogado y el otro detrás del recluso. Los abogados no pueden entrar con papeles, copias del expediente o con bolígrafos.

Para entregar todo este papeleo, los familiares deben viajar al portón principal del centro penal donde solo UNA persona designada las recibe. Esta persona tiene que caminar de un lado a otro desde las oficinas administrativas todo el día. Este es un sistema altamente ineficiente que requiere que los miembros de la familia permanezcan afuera bajo el sol caliente sin sombra, sin baño, donde no puedan comprar agua o alimentos, donde no puedan sentarse, excepto en el pavimento caliente, durante horas.

Cambiando la Cultura Penitenciaria en Honduras

En La Tolva, es realmente difícil, si no imposible, que las organizaciones nacionales e internacionales de derechos humanos ingresen y verifiquen las condiciones de los privados de libertad. Esto le da a las autoridades penitenciarias aún más poder y capacidad para ocultar o distorsionar la realidad de lo que ocurre o no ocurre dentro de estas cárceles.

En las cárceles hondureñas normales y según la cultura hondureña, dejar comida, ropa y otras necesidades básicas en las cárceles para familiares ha sido la norma durante años. Con la construcción de centros penales de estilo estadounidense en Honduras, esto ha cambiado. Ahora, no se puede dejar nada en el portón de las cárceles de máxima seguridad sin que las autoridades penitenciarias le digan qué (recetas médicas recetadas por el médico del centro penal; agua; el tipo y la cantidad de ropa hasta el color exacto, el tipo de escote, el estilo, etc.) Para tantas familias pobres de Honduras, proporcionar estos artículos hasta las especificidades requeridas por el Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y La Tolva es imposible y muy costoso.

La mayoría de los privados de libertad hondureños en estos centros de tortura son personas pobres. Los ricos y corruptos, como todos los acusados ​​en los 8 casos de corrupción presentados por el organismo anticorrupción financiado internacionalmente, la MACCIH son liberados con medidas substitutivas, bajo arresto domiciliario o encarcelados dentro de salas VIP o celdas en el centro penal de Tamara, fuera de Tegucigalpa.

Enviar a Edwin y Raúl, dos personas de miles de hondureños que protestaron por el fraude electoral de 2017, a La Tolva es el castigo más severo e inhumano impuesto por el régimen de Juan Orlando Hernández contra miembros de la oposición. La complacencia de la Fiscalía y el Poder Judicial es cruel, injusta y, una vez más, una ilustración de la forma desigual en que se aplica la ley de manera manipuladora en Honduras.

Los Primeros Días Después de la Llegada de Edwin a La Tolva

Poco después de llegar a La Tolva, más tarde descubriríamos que tanto Edwin como Raúl permanecieron recluidos en régimen de aislamiento: Raúl durante aproximadamente 20 días y Edwin durante 15 días. Edwin me dice que casi se volvió loco las primeras semanas. Estaba encerrado dentro de una pequeña celda sin baño. Le rogó a otro privado de libertad que vio en una hora fuera de un día (más tarde sería una hora cada dos semanas) que le prestara la Biblia. Fue lo único que evitó que su mente se volviera loca y uno de los pocos libros en el último año en que pudo tener en sus manos.

Empresas Estadounidenses Se Benefician de Estos Centros de Tortura y Detención de Presos Políticos

La parte más escandalosa de las condiciones y prácticas de las autoridades hondureñas es que las dos prisiones de máxima seguridad, La Tolva (o El Pozo II) y El Pozo, están hechas, diseñadas y son una fuente de ganancias para los contratistas y compañías de prisiones de EE. UU.

Dentro de La Tolva, uno puede ver rápidamente que la mayoría de los equipos, materiales de construcción, ventanas blindadas, incluso los grandes ventiladores industriales en los techos de las áreas de visita, fueron comprados a compañías estadounidenses.

El gobierno hondureño ha comprado varios tipos de equipos para la cárcel que nunca se han utilizado. Por ejemplo, hay una lavadora y secadora grande de ropa industrial que nunca se usa, posiblemente porque la prisión sufre una grave escasez de agua. En cambio, el equipo se queda sin usar, mientras que una compañía estadounidense recibió probablemente miles de dólares vendiéndolo al gobierno de Honduras.

Todas las ventanas, incluidos los bloques de celdas y las áreas de visitas, son blindadas y se ha gastado dinero en todo tipo de equipos de estilo estadounidense, sin embargo, hay poco o ningún equipo médico o medicamentos dentro de la clínica de salud que presuntamente tiene un médico las 24 horas en el personal 7 días a la semana. Sin embargo, los privados de libertad se quejan constantemente de la falta de atención médica urgente y regular, incluidos Edwin y Raúl, que se declararon en huelga de hambre y exigieron ver a un médico en los primeros meses de su llegada a La Tolva.

Por lo que entienden los internos y los guardias de la prisión, dentro del centro de tortura de La Tolva hay talleres de trabajo en madera y gimnasios llenos de diversos tipos de equipos. Estas áreas y equipo no son utilizados pero los internos saben que existen. La cocina tiene un equipo de estilo industrial que es más probable que no, que se compre a una empresa estadounidense y que se importe a Honduras.

El año pasado, una empresa privada de EE. UU. instaló teléfonos y los reclusos que querían comunicarse con sus familiares tuvieron que comprar tarjetas telefónicas que cuestan 100 lempiras ($ 4.20) por 12 minutos. Los teléfonos fueron retirados en abril de 2018.

Una compañía estadounidense también presta servicios y maneja las cámaras de seguridad dentro de La Tolva, pero el nombre de la compañía no es información pública y es difícil de verificar.

Se Encuentra Mujeres Hondureñas Valientes en el Portón Principal

Estar fuera del portón principal de La Tolva (conocida como ‘aduana una’ casi como si ingresara a otro país y dejara atrás todos sus derechos) se ha convertido en la norma para mí. Casi una vez por semana, espero fuera del centro de tortura con mujeres hondureñas de la organización, la Mesa de los Indignados de Progreso que lidera la lucha para la liberación de los presos políticos.

Nosotras y todas las mujeres miembros de la familia de otros reclusos, tenemos que luchar constantemente contra las diferentes fuerzas militares y policiales en el portón principal, ya sea para aceptar los medicamentos recetados por los supuestos médicos, aceptar suplementos nutricionales adicionales, y simplemente exigir que las autoridades penitenciarias respeten la ley. Cuando uno exige esto, me han reído y despedido las fuerzas de seguridad en el portón diciendome: "estás en Honduras, amor"

En el centro de tortura La Tolva, las leyes no se aplican. Todos los mecanismos legales que establecen las normas, procedimientos y leyes de los centros penales en Honduras son violados en La Tolva. Cuanto más mencione que las autoridades penitenciarias están violando la ley, más las diversas fuerzas de seguridad presentes dentro de la cárcel, como la Policía Militar de Orden Público, las policías del Instituto Penitenciario Nacional (INP), el ejército y la nueva Fuerza Nacional para el Control de los Centros Penales (que solo son soldados militares entrenados por los Estados Unidos en pasamontañas con solo sus ojos expuestos y uniformes negros y verdes) hacen que sea más y más difícil para usted ver a los miembros de su familia.

El director de la prisión militar también encuentra su forma de castigar a aquellos que exigen que se respete la ley. En muchos casos, los directores militares (que rotan cada 6-7 meses) lo harán esperar afuera bajo el sol caliente donde no hay sombra ni árboles, donde comprar agua, ir al baño o sentarse. Pasé horas y horas fuera de La Tolva junto a mujeres hondureñas que hacen las mismas cosas que yo: esperar a que me dejen visitar, dejar los medicamentos y los suplementos nutricionales prescritos, o esperar la respuesta a preguntas sencillas.

He conocido a innumerables mujeres hondureñas en las puertas de La Tolva mientras espero, una vez más, para obtener una confirmación por escrito de algo o un permiso del Director para ingresar. Casi todas las mujeres me cuentan historias interminables de abusos; abuso sexual y acoso; en ocasiones en que han intentado exigir sus derechos y luego han sido sancionadas con la privación de sus derechos de visita durante 6 meses; de luchar por sus hermanos, hijos y esposos y terminar frustradas sin respuesta del gobierno hondureño.

Las mujeres hondureñas que siguen yendo a La Tolva para visitar y apoyar a sus familiares son realmente increíbles. He venido a respetar profundamente su valor, fortaleza y solidaridad al compartir testimonios e historias en el portón principal del centro de tortura.

Una Estrategia de "Seguridad" Fallida pero Exitosamente Rentable

Estos centros de tortura no hacen nada para garantizar la seguridad de la población carcelaria o la seguridad de la población general hondureña. Las mujeres hondureñas son las personas más afectadas por esta nueva política de seguridad implementada en virtud de Juan Orlando Hernández y con la vista positiva del gobierno de los Estados Unidos que promueve los intereses económicos de los Estados Unidos en Honduras encima de los derechos humanos y los derechos de los privados de libertad.

Estas cárceles deben estar cerradas. En las cárceles hondureñas normales, las condiciones deben ser mejoradas.

Como dijo Edwin a algunos extranjeros hace unos meses:

“En Honduras, tenemos cárceles en lugar de escuelas, armas en lugar de medicina, balas en lugar de libros. Esto solo hace que nuestro mundo sea más inseguro. Vamos a construir un mundo mejor. Pida a su gobierno que deje de apoyar las dictaduras."

ONE YEAR LATER: THE DAY EDWIN WAS ARRESTED - UN AÑO DESPUÉS: EL DÍA EDWIN FUE CAPTURADO

One year ago today, Edwin and I spent our last almost full day together.

We spent the day together following up on two human rights cases. The case of Kimberly Fonseca, the 19-year old woman shot by the Military Police in Tegucigalpa, and the case of Zet Jonathan Araujo who was disappeared and tortured in Las Rodas neighbourhood and whose body was found a day or two later. Both are victims of repression in the context of the electoral crisis.

We were both concerned about Edwin’s safety since Monday of that week, when a defamation campaign circulated accusing him of leading the vandalism of the Marriott hotel. Everyone in Honduras knows that many of the defamation campaigns that circulated around the crisis (and before), were designed and circulated by state intelligence, military and the police.

On January 19, 2018, the post-electoral crisis was still in full swing. The feeling in Tegucigalpa was tense as people prepared for the one-week strike that had been called by the opposition in lead up to the January 27 inauguration of Juan Orlando Hernandez’s second (and illegal) term.

Edwin and I knew that the chances of the country being shut down for the week were high, so we went grocery shopping to stock up on food for the week. Arriving home, Edwin said good-bye, telling me he wanted to go quickly to the centre of Tegucigalpa to get his hair cut.

That evening, between 8:00 and 8:30 pm, I got a call telling me that Edwin had been arrested. Seconds later, I drove quickly over to the major boulevard to the spot where I was told that police had picked him up.

Arriving there, police patrol lights flickered in the night sky and several police patrol cars were parked on the side of the road. It scared me … the boulevard had been completely shut down and I immediately thought that Edwin had been killed. The number of police seemed oddly excessive, especially considering that they were only arresting Edwin, a long-time human rights defender and activist.

Independent journalist, Sandra Cuffe and I went immediately from the site of Edwin’s arrest to the DPI headquarters in La Kennedy neighbourhood in Tegucigalpa. When we got to the DPI, Edwin was being led around the parking lot by DPI agents. He was paraded in front of the Honduran media who painted him as a terrorist and a dangerous criminal - a tactic that has become the norm in Honduras to create a “show” (as Hondurans call it) to justify their excessive budgets for the repressive state security forces, the militarization of Honduran streets, and the so-called war against gangs and organized crime.

Photo credit: Criterio.hn https://criterio.hn/2018/01/20/joh-vas-afuera-delincuente-edwin-robelo-espinal/

As a result of showing up there and later reporting on Edwin’s arrest (and other political prisoners, protests, assassinations in the context of the post-electoral crisis, caravans, etc), Sandra would later be denied entry by migration authorities and deported from Honduras.

When I finally was able to see Edwin, he was in high spirits despite being in hand and leg cuffs, knowing that he would spend at least the night in jail. Spending hours in jail or the night was not something that was unusual to him – Edwin has been arrested over a dozen times since 2009 on different charges, all stemming from his participation in protests.

Little did we both know that evening, Edwin would be quickly ‘processed’ by the Honduran judicial system and the Public Prosecutor’s office that would within a day, send him to a maximum security prison where he still remains. Little did I know, I would spend the year fighting to get him out alongside the incredible Honduran social movement.

****

Tomorrow, one year since Edwin’s arrest, various sectors of Honduran society including three political parties (Liberal, LIBRE, and the new party formed by former Presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla), the Convergence against Re-election, the new coalition Citizen Action Against the Dictatorship, student groups, and several grassroots community organizations, will kick off a week of actions around the country. One of their primary demands is the release of political prisoners.

Photo: “Freedom for political prisoners. Censorship is what dictators do. Protest! January 20 at 10 am in front of Radio Globo (Tegucigalpa). Come wearing a black shirt!”

One year later, the political, social and economic crisis continues in Honduras and every single day since January 19, 2018, my life has been crisis after crisis. All of my crises have been about the Honduran government’s attempts to kick me out of the country; Edwin and Raul’s (the other political prisoner imprisoned with Edwin) health; the legal case; picking up broken pieces of personal and family issues; and figuring out how to keep going, how to find the energy, and of course, figuring out how to make the Canadian and US governments take responsibility for the crisis they are part of and helped create, since forever ago, in Honduras.

Thank you to all the amazing family, friends, compañeros and compañeras that have helped me through the year. 2019 will be the year of kicking more ass and hopefully, the year that all political prisoners and people criminalized for protesting in Honduras will be released.

*****

UN AÑO DESPUÉS: EL DÍA EDWIN FUE CAPTURADO

Hoy hace un año, Edwin y yo pasamos nuestro último día casi completo juntos.

Pasamos el día dando seguimiento a dos casos de derechos humanos. El caso de Kimberly Fonseca, una joven de 19 años asesinada por la Policía Militar en Tegucigalpa, y el caso de Zet Jonathan Araujo, desaparecido y torturado en la colonia Las Rodas y cuyo cuerpo fue encontrado uno o dos días después.

Ambos estábamos preocupados por la seguridad de Edwin desde el lunes de esa semana, cuando circuló un afiche de difamación que lo acusaba de liderar el vandalismo en el hotel Marriot. Todos en Honduras saben que muchas de las campañas de difamación que circularon alrededor de la crisis (y antes), fueron diseñamos y circulaban por los servicios de inteligencia del estado, el ejército y la policía.

El 19 de enero de 2018, la crisis post-electoral todavía estaba en pleno apogeo. El ambiente en Tegucigalpa fue tenso, ya que la gente se prepararon para la huelga de una semana que había sido convocada por la oposición antes de la inauguración del segundo mandato ilegal de Juan Orlando Hernández, el 27 de enero.

Edwin y yo sabíamos que las posibilidades de que se cerrara el país durante la semana eran altas, por lo que fuimos al supermercado para abastecernos de alimentos para la semana. Al llegar a casa, Edwin se despidió y me dijo que quería ir rápidamente al centro de Tegucigalpa para cortarse el pelo.

Esa noche, entre las 8:00 y las 8:30 pm, recibí una llamada que me decía que Edwin había sido arrestado. Segundos más tarde, conduje rápidamente hacia el bulevar principal hasta el lugar donde me dijeron que la policía lo había recogido. Al llegar allí, las luces de las patrullas policiales parpadearon en el cielo nocturno y varios patrullas estaban estacionados a un lado de la carretera.

Me asustó ... el bulevar había sido completamente cerrado e inmediatamente pensé que habían matado a Edwin. La cantidad de policías parecía extrañamente excesiva, especialmente teniendo en cuenta que solo estaban arrestando a Edwin, un defensor de los derechos humanos y activista desde hace mucho tiempo.

La periodista independiente, Sandra Cuffe y yo salimos inmediatamente del sitio de su captura a la sede del Departamento de la DPI en el barrio La Kennedy en Tegucigalpa. Cuando llegamos al DPI, los agentes guían a Edwin alrededor del estacionamiento. Lo desfilaron frente a los medios hondureños que lo pintaron como un terrorista y un criminal peligroso - una táctica que se ha convertido en la norma en Honduras para crear un "show" (como lo llaman los hondureños) para justificar sus presupuestos excesivos para las fuerzas de seguridad represivas, la militarización de las calles hondureñas y la llamada guerra contra las pandillas y el crimen organizado.

Como resultado de aparecer allí y luego informar sobre la captura de Edwin (y otros presos políticos, protestas, asesinatos en el contexto de la crisis postelectoral, la caravana, etc.), a Sandra se le negaría la entrada al país las autoridades migratorias y la deportaría de Honduras.

Cuando por fin pude ver a Edwin, el estaba muy animado a pesar de que estaba enchachado las manos y los pies y sabía que pasaría al menos una noche en la cárcel. Algo que no le resultara extraño: Edwin ha sido capturado más de una docena de veces desde 2009 por diferentes acusaciones, todos relacionados con su participación en protestas.

Poco sabíamos los dos esa noche, Edwin sería rápidamente "procesado" por el sistema judicial hondureño y el Ministerio Publico que, dentro de un día, lo enviaría a una cárcel de máxima seguridad donde aún esta encarcelado. Poco sabía yo que me pasaría un año luchando para liberarlo junto con el increíble movimiento social hondureño.

***

Mañana, un año después del arresto de Edwin, varios sectores de la sociedad hondureña, incluidos tres partidos políticos (Liberal, LIBRE y el nuevo partido formado por el ex candidato presidencial Salvador Nasralla), la Convergencia Contra el Continuismo, la nueva coalición Acción Ciudadana Contra la Dictadura, grupos de estudiantes y varias organizaciones comunitarias de base iniciarán una semana de acciones en todo el país. Una de sus principales demandas es la liberación de los presos políticos.

Un año después, la crisis política, social y económica continúa en Honduras y todos los días, desde el 19 de enero de 2018, mi vida ha sido crisis tras crisis. Todas mis crisis han sido por los intentos del gobierno hondureño de echarme del país; respondiendo a los problemas de salud de Edwin y Raúl (el otro preso político encarcelado con Edwin); monitoreando el caso legal; recogiendo piezas rotas de problemas personales y familiares; y averiguando cómo seguir adelante, cómo encontrar la energía y, por supuesto, descubrir cómo hacer que los gobiernos de Canadá y Estados Unidos se responsabilicen de la crisis de la que forman parte y ayudaron a crear, desde siempre, en Honduras.

Gracias a toda mi familia, amigos, compañeros y compañeras que me han ayudado durante todo el año. 2019 será el año de lucha imparable y ojalá, el año en que todos los presos políticos y los criminalizados en Honduras serán liberados.